


Heroes of Meridian

by MariemConnell



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-28
Updated: 2021-01-28
Packaged: 2021-03-14 16:21:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29049096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MariemConnell/pseuds/MariemConnell
Summary: When trouble arises in the land of Meridian, these heroes kinda stumble upon it and decide to try and fix it.A dramatic retelling of my D&D campaign and the hi-jinx my players get up to.





	Heroes of Meridian

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> So, this is what happened in my D&D campaign.   
> The story is slightly smoothed out and the dialogue is likely to be different.  
> But overall, this is what happened.  
> I hope you enjoy!

_From time immemorial heroes have arisen. Powerful sorcerers, daring knights, charming rogues, all these have fought against those forces that would inflict suffering upon the world. They have shaped the future, paving the way with their blood and sweat in the ever burning hope that the evil forces of the future will not prevail against that which is compassionate, just, and valorous. This is the story of heroes who did not aspire to such grand ambitions, but whose actions would shape the future and rock the very foundations of their world..._

In the city of Villepas, nothing is ever still. A bustling harbour town at the northern shore of the Solemn Sea, it is the beating heart of Central Meridian. From all across the continent, and far beyond, people come streaming in to sell their wares, rest on their journeys, and set out on new quests. It is hardly surprising then that one of the most incredible legends in the history of Meridian began there.

One calm fall day, patrons of the Traveller's Inn Tavern were enjoying their drinks. Though a boisterous place in the evenings, at mid-morning the tavern was populated only by a few sparse groups of travelers and regulars. A fire roared in the great hearth sending flickering shadows dancing across the rough wooden floor. The quiet hum of many conversations flooded the great room, and the smell of stewing meat emanated from the behind the bar as the inn keeper prepared for the evening meal. The far distance, sounds of the city could just barely be heard through the walls.

There was not even a moment's warning before the side door burst open. In rushed a horde of creatures; red skinned humanoids with heads like dragons. Their lizard tails lashed as they brandished the daggers in their clawed fists, screaming aggressively at the shocked patrons. They streamed in quickly, escaping the light outside to dive gleefully into the relative darkness of the tavern. Though shorter even than the average Halfling, their rippled muscles and sharp claws belied any possibility that they might be easily driven off. Kobolds; distant relatives of dragons, creatures of darkness and the depths. Small, but incredibly tough and bearing a terrible hatred for any other races that stood in their way.

When facing an onslaught of Kobolds baying for blood, a sensible person will run. Most of the patrons were sensible people. They rushed towards the front door, stumbling over each other to escape the threatening invaders. The Kobolds chanted in triumph as their victims fled, confident in their victory until an arrow sprouted out of one of their shoulders.

A tall blond Elf stood on his chair, notching another arrow to his bow and taking aim at a second monster. Simultaneously, an avian shriek cut through the chaotic chanting and a white blur flew through the air towards the small intruders, talons scratching at the dragon faces. While the inn keeper ducked down behind the bar, the Centaur woman in front of it turned and cracked her knuckles in anticipation. Hefting her great sword, she charged forward, sending several Kobolds flying into the walls.

One of the dragonoids shrieked in alarm and began to bark an order to his still standing compatriots, but he was quickly silenced by an axe to the head as a Half-Orc stepped forward and cleaved his skull in two. Two Kobolds, shocked by this turn about, stood back to back in the middle of the rapidly collapsing inn, frantically waving their weapons to keep any looming threats at bay. A Half-Elf man in the corner looked up briefly from his book and simply waved his hands in the air while he muttered something under his breath. Faster than one could blink, a stream of blue-white light struck the first Kobold, freezing the blood in the monster's veins. At the same time, the other Kobold felt a sharp pain at his throat, and then felt nothing more as he fell down dead. A red cloaked Halfling stepped away from the cooling corpse, wiping the blade of his dagger against his cloak as he did so. From opposite sides of the room a second blonde Elf, this one dressed in green, and an Aarakocran woman, with a face and wing markings like a hawk, each shot arrows at two of the remaining Kobolds. Both projectiles found their marks and the Kobolds fell down dead, arrows buried up to the fletching in their heads. With unerring efficiency, the former partrons dispatched of the other panicking Kobolds.

As suddenly as it had begun, the fighting stopped. The Inn Keeper peeked cautiously over the top of his bar to survey the damage. The bodies of the Kobolds littered the floor, their blood slowly staining the planks. Chairs and tables had been tossed carelessly to every side in the struggle, many cracked beyond all hope of repair. The fire burned bright, catching on the debris that has landed in the hearth in the chaos. And amidst all that stood the heroes of the hour, the unlikely coterie of individuals who has so swiftly dealt lethal justice to those who had disturbed the peace.

They stood panting, staring at each other. They stepped forward somewhat cautiously, those with traveling companions keeping close together. It could hardly be said that an odder bunch had ever graced Central Meridian before; a great range of races from all walks of life, their only commonality the instinct to step embrace trouble when it came bursting through the door. Truthfully, they were all surprised that they had not been alone in the charge against the invading menace. Finally, the blonde Elf dressed in gold and brown stepped forward with an easy, charming smile on his face. "Well fought friends!" said he brightly. Turning to the shocked inn keeper, he called out "Might I order a round for all these fine people?"

Stunned beyond belief, the inn keeper went about following the request while the Elf continued. "My name is Torak. And you all?"

The first person to step forward was the Centaur; a large, well muscled figure with blue ink tattoos across her torso and her bare arms. "I am Aedissa! You all fought well, I am impressed!" Her voice was deep with a rough, throaty accent. She smiled approvingly at the people around her.

"I'm Miri." chirped a white Harpy with markings like an albatross, hopping forward over the Kobold in front of them. "And this is John." The bird waved back towards the Half-Orc standing behind them.

John waved.

"And I'm Tazarian. You can call me Taz" the other Elf spoke, his voice high and light. He adjusted his green vest somewhat self consciously.

"My name is Barlan." said the brunette Half-Elf. His purple cape caught on a Kobold's snout as he stepped forward and he paused a moment to untangle it.

The red cloaked Halfling appeared next to Torak and, in a remarkably cheerful tone, said "Hey guys, I'm Volkano."

At last, the Aarakocra stepped forward, readjusting her mussed wing feathers. "I am Akkal. It's good to meet you?" The lilt in her voice making a question of her remark.

The inn keeper stepped forward with a large tray bearing mugs of ale. He assiduously avoided glancing at the strewn corpses, focusing instead on the ceiling or the irreparable furniture. Most of the circle gladly grabbed a tankard gratefully and the inn keeper walked gingerly away with his lighter load. "I'd like to propose a toast." said Torak, taking his tankard and raising it high "To fine fighting and righting wrongs!"

The sentiment was echoed around the room and all of the party took a swig of their drinks (though in the case of Aedissa, a swig was the entire pint). "What are these creatures doing in this place? It does not seem to me like this is where they would normally stay." the horse growled.

"Maybe the inn keeper would know?" suggested Akkal hesitantly.

They all turned towards the bar man who was wandering in a daze, righting chair and testing tables for their strength. He jolted quickly when he realized all of the fighters were looking at him. "Oh, uh, well they...Um, there have been a lot of raids recently. They seem to like attacking us."

"How long has this been going on?" inquired Barlan, in a soft spoken, kindly voice.

"About...a month?"

"That's quite a while." Torak commented.

"Do you know why they're attacking?" asked Taz.

"No, not really. It's odd, they normally stay in the mountains."

"Hm....Odd, odd, very odd..." Miri hopped about, muttering under their breath. Behind the bird, John nodded.

"Hm....Well, I wonder if we could be of assistance?" suggested Torak "We worked very well here, I think we could do great things."

A murmur of assent echoed from each of them. They were all of them newly arrived in town, but even without being locals none of them wished to see the bustling metropolitan be ravaged by invading monsters. They requested and received from the inn keeper a map of the area, and he showed them the likely places on the Birtimias mountains where the Kobolds might have their lair. Torak and Taz both explained that they were very familiar with forests and were confident that they would be able to track through the wooded mountain base. Miri and Akkal arranged between them to scout out the area by air. Meanwhile the rest of the party discussed what to do once they reached the Kobolds.

"I think it will depend a lot on what we find there, with numbers and stuff." suggested Barlan.

John was entirely in favour of completely exterminating all the Kobolds, and Aedissa was pretty much entirely in agreement, but the other party members were slightly less bloody minded. "I mean, if there are a lot, it's probably not a great idea for 8 people to try and take them all on." said Volkano, evidently not thrilled with the idea of facing overwhelming numbers. "I like Barlan's plan. Let's just see what we find when we get there."

Eventually Aedissa was convinced and John was out voted, so the party prepared themselves to set out on this first quest together. Given that they had all just arrived in town, they were all well equipped for their task and were soon on their way. They reached the woods by mid afternoon and plunged into dark woods.

The woods were near silent as they crept through the bushes. From above the treetops, Miri and Akkal let out the occasional shriek. Below, John would whistle back, keeping the party within ear shot of each other. The way became quickly steeper as they reached the mountain base. They climbed up rocky banks and ducked under twisted branches, jumped over tiny rivulets and carefully edged around irritating plants. All the while, they talked lightly of things and joked about the task they had begun. Torak and Taz darted this way and that, examining every animal path and flattened shrub. Finally, the former let out a shout and beckoned for the others to join him in examining a tunnel of sorts through the shrubbery. In the hard dirt, they could just make out the distinctive three toed mark of the short monsters. Shifting course, they found themselves heading much more steeply up the mountain side.

A cold wind blew through the thinning trees, sighing through the branches. There was no talking now, instead a thick tension settled over the travelers. They gripped their weapons tightly and glanced constantly about themselves, uneasy in the quiet forest. Pebbles shifted beneath their feet as they trudge onward, scattering behind them on the rough path. Every now and then, the two trackers would bend down to consult in quiet whispers about the path they were following. The two scouts would occasionally return to consult the Elves before taking off into the sky yet again, intent on finding the rumored cave. The sun was low in the sky when they finally found a dark cavern in the mountain side, nearly covered by thick bushes all around it.

Sheltering in the bushes outside the cave, the party huddled together to quietly discuss their plans. Unsure of what they would encounter, they eventually decided to send in Volkano to try and sneakily scout the cavern. Torak volunteered to join in. "Volkano and I work well together" he said, patting his traveling companion on the shoulder.

The two men crept forward, keeping to the shadows as they approached the entrance to the cave. Glancing in, Volkano calculated the best path into the cave, keeping to the deepest shadows. He guided his friend in and they snuck into the depths.

Inside, shadows leaped across the stony walls. In the corner a fire flickered, glowing dull orange amid the gloom of the damp cave. A squat figure sat facing the fire, nudging at a log with it's foot. Across from the cavern entrance, a dark hole stretched out into the heart of the mountain lighted by dying torches that stretched away into the depths, disappearing in the darkness. Crouching together on the ground, Torak and Volkano surveilled the area.

"It looks like they left a guard to alert the others deeper in the cave." Torak breathed into Volkano's ear. "We should get rid of him as quickly as possible."

Volkano nodded in agreement and the pair backed out of the cavern to alert to rest of the party. It took some time before they managed to convince John and Aedissa that no, a full frontal assault with no regard for noise was not the best plan of attack. "If we don't know how many Kobolds we are facing, we run the risk of being overwhelmed." counseled Barlan.

John was still of the opinion that the most efficient route to saving the town was just to kill all the Kobolds, so what did it matter if there were a lot in there? It just meant that they could kill more at once.

Aedissa was more practical in her concerns. "I am a centaur." She stated "We are not exactly built for stealth."

It was eventually decided that she would bring up the rear and that in the event of a full scale battle, everyone else would jump to the sides to allow her to pass. Taz and Miri eventually convinced John to follow the sneaky plan by suggesting that in the crush of potential numbers, Miri might get hurt. Finally, the party crept together towards the cave.

Akkal and Torak took the lead, readying their bows. When everyone was within the cavern, they simultaneously let loose their arrows.

A slightly whistling was all the warning the Kobold at the fire got before he felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned sharply in surprise, only for a hand axe to embed itself in his face. Nearly dead, the Kobold dropped to the ground with a quiet groan, feeling blindly for the dagger at it's hip. Before he could do more than grope at his hip, the Kobold was hit with a third arrow, this one from Taz's bow. The Kobold keeled over, hitting the ground with a quiet thump. The party gathered around, assuring themselves of their victory and relieving the corpse of it's spoils.

Confident after their first triumph, Volkano and Torak immediately volunteered to scout out the next portion of the cave.

Everyone waited with bated breath as the duo melted into the blackness between the flickering torches.

Volkano took the lead, his body easily creeping low to the ground, his eyes finding the deepest shadows with practiced ease. His dark red cloak blended better with the varied coloured stones than a pure black one would, and his feet were as light upon the ground as the air itself. His fingers felt along the stones beside him, searching for minute cracks or weaknesses in the rock that would suggest a trap. He paused at every second step, listening carefully for any disturbances ahead or behind.

Then he heard something; a great clattering sound of heavily falling armour and weaponry.

From behind him.

He turned as saw, to his horror, that Torak had tripped, the clatter from his friend's fall echoing in the quiet cavern.


End file.
